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Breaking: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Charged with Multiple Crimes

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on public corruption charges after a two-year investigation and less than six weeks before the nation’s general election, Israel’s attorney general announced Thursday.

Netanyahu — who is currently serving in his third consecutive term as prime minister and fourth overall — faces one count of bribery and two counts of fraud and breach of trust, NBC News reported.

The most serious charge alleges Netanyahu provided regulatory concessions to Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in Bezeq telecommunications, in exchange for favorable media coverage from Bezeq’a news site, called Walla, according to Haaretz.

The prime minister is also accused of accepting gifts from wealthy business figures in exchange for political favors.

Another charge centers around an alleged deal with Arnon Mozes for favorable news coverage in return for supporting legislation to damage the newspaper Israel Hayom, owned by American businessman Sheldon Adelson.

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Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz came to Netanyahu’s defense.

“I’m very worried for freedom of the press and freedom of government in Israel if they start indicting people for trying to get good coverage from the media,” Dershowitz told Army Radio, according to The Times of Israel.

“I don’t know of any other country that has criminalized trying to get good coverage and make that a basis of bribery or any other corruption investigation.”

Israeli law professor Said Avi Bell told NBC News that the indictment inserts law enforcement into the nation’s politics “in an unprecedented way, and on a very shaky legal foundation.”

Do you think the indictment is politically motivated? 

Netanyahu’s Likud Party responded to the indictment announcement, saying in a statement that “there is nothing” to the cases.

The party accused “the media and the left” of pressuring a “weak” attorney general into the decision. “No one is surprised by the announcement.”

The statement further claimed that “the witch hunt against the prime minister began with an attempt to hit him with four bribery cases. Even before the hearing, three of those have collapsed.”

Asked about the then-anticipated indictment announcement, President Donald Trump told reporters in Vietnam that he did not know about the specific charges.

“I think he’s been a great prime minister,” he said.

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“He’s done a great job as prime minister,” the president added. “He’s tough, he’s smart, he’s strong.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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